Aiding a Felon
by littlev123
Summary: Early in the morning, Sousuke is visited by an unfortunately familiar con man. Sousuke proceeds to help said con man recover and wonders why he doesn't hate the situation as much as he should. SousukexKisumi. Rated T for frequent swearing. AU. Oneshot. Mention of vomiting.


**A/N: I found this story while I was looking through some old files. It was written a couple years ago, meaning that it's far from perfect, but I figured I might as well upload it. Originally it was supposed to be part of a much larger fic that I never wrote the rest of. I hope you enjoy this little snippet of what did end up being written. ^^**

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The insistent, rapid knocking on Sousuke's house door shattered the peaceful quiet of the night. Woken from his deep slumber, the brunette opened bleary eyes and turned his head to squint at the bright numbers of the alarm clock.

2:04.

In the goddamn morning.

Heaving a sigh of irritation, he considered lying in bed and waiting for the person to leave. However, since they must be in a rush due to the speedy rapping of knuckles on wood, he decided he might as well see what was so urgent.

He reluctantly rose from bed. A light shiver crawled down his spine now that thick blankets weren't protecting his bare chest from the cool air inside his room. After tightening the string on his loose sweatpants he made his way out of his bedroom and into the living room.

By this point the knocking had drummed its way from annoying to downright aggravating. Whatever they wanted better be important, or Sousuke couldn't guarantee their safety.

Placing his hand on the doorknob, he swung it open, a scowl already set on his face.

"What?" he demanded. When his eyes landed on familiar pink hair and amethyst irises, he was supremely tempted to slam the door shut right there.

"Is that how you greet a dear friend, Sousuke?" Kisumi questioned, flashing that charming smile. However, the expression came appeared oddly strained; maybe he didn't want to be up at this hour either.

"It is when you wake me up at two in the morning," he retorted. "What the hell do you need so badly that it couldn't wait?"

"I wouldn't have had to if you hadn't changed the locks," he pointed out, shrugging his shoulders innocently. Suddenly, the movement ended in a wince, which he swiftly tried to pass off by threading his thin fingers through rosy hair.

"I changed the locks for a reason." Sousuke's words lost their bite as his suspicions became aroused. That momentary cringe was completely out of place for someone who kept composure as well as Kisumi.

Swallowing thickly, the con man started speaking again. "As much as I would love to chat with you under the moonlight, I'm afraid that will have to wait." While he tried to remain steady, his tone was clipped and antsy, as if his poise was ready to fall apart. The next thing Sousuke knew, Kisumi had squeezed past him and into the house.

The officer blinked, registering what had just happened, and then closed the door. When he turned around he saw the bathroom door being slammed shut and heard the sink faucet being turned on full blast.

The little bastard was faster than he thought.

Knowing he wouldn't be able to return to sleep now, Sousuke flopped down on the couch to wait. He ran over his options in his head. Once Kisumi came out, he would either kick him out—which he actually couldn't do without the possibility of being ratted out to his fellow police officers—or resign himself to listening to a bubbly con man for hours on end.

He really, really wished he could pick the first option. It was way too early for this shit.

More than ever he regretted his idiotic lapse in judgement five months ago. What kind of police officer unwittingly helps a criminal and subsequently is blackmailed by said criminal? Now he had to deal with frequent visits from a con man who seemed intent on making Sousuke's house his second home.

Ten minutes passed. The sink was still running, the rush of water muffling all sounds within except for the occasional toilet flush.

Impatience growing, Sousuke thought back over to when he had opened the door. Now that he mulled it over, something had seemed off with the other. It may be nothing, but he found himself being hit by a pang of concern. No, not concern, he tried to convince himself. Just curiosity. Either way, he knew he would be uneasy until he found out, so he decided to check on him.

"Oi, Kisumi," he called out, knocking on the bathroom door. No response.

"You're going to use up all my water at this rate," he added. The last thing he needed was for Kisumi to think he was growing a soft spot for him. Which he definitely, most certainly wasn't.

After a full minute he still earned no reply. Frowning, Sousuke slowly opened the door and froze at the sight in front of him.

Kisumi was sitting on the floor, long legs sprawled out in front of him from where he slumped against the wall. All color had drained from his face; if it weren't for his clothes and shock of bright hair, he could have blended in with the white wall behind him. His entire body visibly trembled. Sweat glistened on his forehead and clumped together his bangs. Eyes clenched shut and breathing heavy, he didn't stir when Sousuke stepped inside.

The unmistakable, premating smell of sick hung in the air. Sousuke's gaze flicked over to the running faucet, finally understanding why it had been left running; it had been used to cover up the noises of his retching. The brunette turned it off, causing Kisumi's labored breathing to sound drastically louder.

The abrupt lack of white noise finally caught Kisumi's attention. The pink haired male cracked open hazy violet eyes. A moment passed, as if he registered Sousuke's presence, before he mustered a pitifully weak smile. However, his head then turned away, and he pressed himself further against the wall—Sousuke recognized it as the other's vain attempt to hide his vulnerable and unappealing state.

After all, criminals tended to hide when they were weak.

"Sorry, I'll only take…a few more minutes." Kisumi's voice grated out of his hoarse throat.

"Yeah, that's not happening." The other looked ready to pass out, much less be able to walk out.

Kisumi laughed weakly. "Probably not," he admitted. "I think…I think I'm done throwing up, at least."

"You still look like shit," he bluntly stated, stepping over to the sink.

"Ouch. You're not supposed to be mean to a sick person, Sousuke. …though you're probably right."

Kisumi was still able to make somewhat of a comeback, so he wasn't completely gone at least.

Sousuke grabbed a fresh rag and soaked it with cold water. After wringing out the excess liquid, he settled down next to the other.

"Hey." The edge of callousness had dissipated from Sousuke's voice. As pissed he was about being woken up, he couldn't help but pity the con man when he looked this miserable.

Kisumi hesitated, uncertain, before turning his head to look at the other.

The officer held up the damp cloth in his hand in explanation.

"Oh, thanks." Kisumi reached out with a shaking hand to take it. However, Sousuke then put it behind his back and out of the other's reach. The shorter male retracted his hand, looking at him with confusion.

"It'll be faster if I do it," Sousuke clarified, not quite able to meet his gaze.

An appreciative grin lit up Kisumi's face, unbelievably bright despite his sickly pale skin.

Ignoring the way that little expression caused his bitter irritation to melt, the officer loosely grasped the other's chin to hold him still. When he placed the cool rag on his skin, Kisumi released a pleased sigh and closed his eyes.

Sousuke gently wiped off the sweat on his cheeks. After pushing aside the long bangs and dabbing at his brow, he placed a hand on his forehead. He felt slightly warmer than average, but not enough to worry about.

"I'm not actually sick." Kisumi insisted, opening his eyes.

The brunette pulled his hands away to give him a disbelieving look.

"I'm really not. It's just poison," he said flippantly, as if that were a perfectly normal response.

"What?!" Sousuke stared at him, astonished. "That's not something you can just brush off. You should have told me earlier. You might need a hospital!"

"No, no, I'll be alright. I know the poison that was used. I didn't have enough to kill me, just enough to make me vomit," he explained.

Sousuke shook his head, concern and intense alarm mingling in his mind. He shouldn't care this much, he shouldn't, but he _did_. "It could still seriously hurt you."

"I'll be okay, I promise." Despite sounding raspy, the calm words soothed the fear that had dug its claws into Sousuke's heart. "I'm sorry I worried you."

"…it wasn't intentional, right? Getting poisoned."

"Of course not." He paused. "Well, yes and no."

"Explain."

"I was making an important deal earlier. The client offered me food. By the way he was acting I figured that it was poisoned. Since I know the guy who supplied him the poison, I could guess how it would affect me. I had to take a bite so he wouldn't get suspicious." Kisumi cleared his raw throat, which wasn't taking kindly to all the talking.

Sousuke sighed in exasperation. "Don't do it again, alright? I don't care how important the deal is."

"Believe me, I don't plan to. I feel awful," Kisumi responded, letting his head fall back against the wall. The other male glanced over him, checking his condition. A hint of color was beginning to return to Kisumi's face, and his quaking had finally stopped. However, his body still sagged with exhaustion.

"Think you can stand?" he asked. As long as he wasn't throwing up, he would be better off lying somewhere other than on a hard bathroom floor.

Kisumi slowly nodded. When Sousuke held out his hand, he reached out and clasped his own around it. Once he slowly made it to his feet he paused, shutting his eyes against a sudden wave of thankfully minor nausea and dizziness.

"Hold on," he mumbled. The brunette complied, patient as they waited out the passing weakness.

"…okay. I'm good." They gradually made their way out of the bathroom, Kisumi using Sousuke's shoulder for support. After they reached the couch the officer helped him lay down on his back.

Satisfied that the other was settled, Sousuke left to gather a few items. He returned a few minutes later with a pillow and bottle of water. He eased the con man up, slipped the fluffy pillow beneath him, and handed him the drink.

"Small sips." Sousuke instructed. Kisumi did as directed before handing the bottle back to him and lying back down. The officer placed it on the table beside the couch and grabbed a nearby trash can. After setting that down on the floor within the other's reach—even if Kisumi said he was done being sick, Sousuke definitely didn't want to take that chance—he pulled down the blanket folded on top of the couch and spread it across the tired man.

"You're very sweet, you know."

Sousuke looked up from where he had been removing Kisumi's shoes and tugging the blanket over his socked feet.

The gentle curve of Kisumi's lips spoke louder than any sugar coated words.

"Go to sleep." Sousuke turned off the lights and returned to his bedroom. As he settled back into the sheets, he briefly placed a hand on his torso, refusing to believe that the warmth blossoming inside his chest was anything other than heartburn.


End file.
